Medical researchers at the University of Cambridge have found that branched chain amino acids are associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes.

A study published in the Journal of Public Library of Science medicine in the Wall Street Journal has identified five genetic variants associated with higher levels of the branched amino acids isoleucine, leucine, and proline.
researchers also found that these genetic variants are associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes.
the team, led by the Epidemiology Department of the Medical Research Council (MRC) at the University of Cambridge, used large-scale genetic data and detailed measurements of branched amino acids and their metabolites in the blood of more than 16,000 volunteers.
branched chain amino acids play a basic role in human metabolism and are the basis of proteins.
unlike the other 20 amino acids, they cannot be produced by the human body.
means that their levels are entirely dependent on external resources (food sources or dietary supplements) and the body's ability to metabolize them.
so far, although higher circulating levels of branched chain amino acids have been linked to type 2 diabetes, no studies have been studied to determine whether there is a causal link.
this is important because if found to be causal, reducing dietary intake or altering the metabolism of these amino acids may help prevent diabetes, an increasingly common and serious disease.
researchers studied more than 10 million genetic variants in more than 16,000 men and women and found genetic differences in five human genome regions associated with higher levels of circulating branched chain amino acids.
then, they found that in 300,000 people, including 40,000 people with diabetes, those with genetic differences associated with higher levels of branched amino acids had a higher risk of type 2 diabetes, providing strong evidence of causality.
THE PPM1K gene was found to have the strongest correlation with all three amino acid levels and higher risk of diabetes, and could encode a known regulator who plays a key role in breaking down branched chain amino acids.
this suggests that damage to the breakdown of these amino acids may put individuals at higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
intervention on this pathway may reduce the risk of diabetes. "Our results suggest that therapeutic strategies for the metabolism of branched chain amino acids can help reduce the risk of diabetes, and we already know the metabolic pathways of the target molecules," said Dr. Claudia Langenberg of the MRC Epidemiology Department at the University of Cambridge.

now need clinical trials to determine whether drugs that break down branched chain amino acids can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.
Source: Decoding Medicine.